Perception of Somali People towards Federal System in Somalia Case of Garowe city, Puntland State of Somalia

This study aimed at determining the Perception of Somali People on Federal System with reference to Puntland, Somalia. The study sought to establish the perception of the Somali people on federal system, identify the drivers of Somali federalism, describe the federal system’s viable option for Somali people governance and find out which system of federal governance prefer for the Somali people to be adopted and the challenges that hind back the Somali federalism. The researcher used Mixed Methods for this study which the investigator collects and analyses data then integrates the findings. The target populations were different actors from State Parliamentarian members, Admas University, PYAN and Horseed Associations. Kothari formula was used to draw the sample of the study which is 156. Data was collected through structured questionnaire to the wide respondents and interviews to collect data from the Key Informants. Quantitative data was analyzed through descriptive statistics and used mean, and standard deviation with SPSS analytical tool. Tables, figures and charts were used for data presentation through the help of Microsoft Excel package. Content Analysis with narrative technique was used to analyze the qualitative data. The finding of the study shows federalism as a solution to political instability in Somalia and that the systems ensure that all the clans are included in the governance of the country, the study also perceived that there is misunderstanding of the federalism its self and clash of clan interests which challenges federal system in the country, International community’s different interests also trigger the obstacle that the federal system is not properly working in Somalia.. The study recommended that there is need for the political players to identify how they can changes the negative perception of federalism in order to ensure that it is able to be fully accepted among the citizen in Somalia; government through a proper implementation of federalism can ensure that all citizens are given an equal opportunity participate in Somalia’s state-building process; Political players need to explore how best they can share political power through (4.5) formulae that is all inclusive of clan, gender and age; political players and power influencer should understand the why the previous the centralized system in Somalia failed in order to best understand to implement federal system. The international community needs to properly evaluate how best they can assist the federal government to attain high levels of success by helping in addressing the prevailing mistrust among the Somali political elites; there is need for increased sensitization on the merits and demerits of federalism in order for the people to understand that it is not only about clannish states or tribal affiliation but about the best system that can enhance both social and economic development; there is need for the political players and power influencers to identify the most appropriate form of federal system in order to identify the one which is most appropriate .